What type of cage/home does your bunny have? Where is the litter box? For the first couple weeks you may have to restrict him to a smaller area until he gains better habits, then slowly increase his “freedom” (still let him have lots of room during exercise time). Another idea is to add more litter boxes. If he pees on the newspaper put some of it in his litter box, that way he might start to figure it out. Also, I know this is really inconvenient but if you try to clean up accidents right away it helps, it’s frustrating but eventually it pays off.There’s info on litter training under “Bunny Info” that’s super helpful and probably has more tips that I forgot.

Are you keeping hay in the litter box or in a hay rack that is above the litter box? If not, that is the number one way to get a bunny to use the box. Bunnies love to do their business while they eat.

A lot of bunnies like to chill out in their litter boxes

Hope this helps a little and welcome to BInky Bunny

I think having the newspaper in other areas of the cage is going to encourage him to go on that instead of in the litterbox, because the newspaper smells like his urine, and he will keep going there. Having any kind of bedding in the cage is going to encourage them to go out of the litterbox. What are in the other corners of his cage?? I would suggest putting the litterbox in one corner, water dish in another, food in another, and something else in another, that way he won’t want to poop/pee in his food or water source, so you sort of force him to go in the one corner. That has always worked when I littertrained my bunnies. If need be, add another litterbox, and once he starts getting the hang of it, take one away. Throw the little poops he leaves in the cage right into the litterbox so he gets the idea of thats where they go. You can also clean up some urine with a napkin and put that directly in the litterbox as well so he can smell it and it will encourage him to go there. Keep hay in the litterbox for him to eat, because bunnies like to eat and go at the same time. As far as sleeping in his litterbox, its completley normal

I agree with the others that you should definitely remove any newspaper or bedding from the cage. Bunnies don’t like to pee on non-absorbent surfaces, so if the litter box is the only absorbent space to go that will help.

He sounds like a hormonal, typical boy rabbit to me Some rabbits are easier to train than others, and accidents will occur.

When the accidents happen, I would toss the poos into the litter box. That is how I trained my rabbit, and she quickly caught on. Since you have an 11 week old, it may take time, plus neutering will help with the process.

Like LoveChacha said, some are easier to train than others. You’re going to be cleaning up some messes with him, but it’s important that you follow the steps for long-term success. Having his hay in, or above, his litterbox will be the best thing to encourage him to do his business in there. I would not block off any part of his cage. Plastic cages are not very large as it is, and decreasing that space further will have a negative effect on his ability to get adequate exercise when you’re not home. Maybe put a second litterbox in?

If he’s 11 weeks now, he should be ready to be neutered at the end of this month, or in June. Has he had a vet exam yet? Neutering will obviously help a great deal.

Has he ever had a wellness check at a vet? If not, take him in for one, and the vet can tell you what gender he is, and if he/she is ready for neutering

I agree with Monkeybun, it’s always good to have a check up when you get a new bunny. That way you can confirm your rabbit’s gender, find out if there’s anything wrong, and get a baseline. Neutering will really really help with the litter box habits, especially the peeing because male bunnies who aren’t neutered spray urine (it ends up everywhere). And will help him be an overall better behaved bunny and healthier in general

my boy buns man parts didn’t drop until about 3 1/2 months, before that they’re invisible, believe me you’ll notice when they appear they’re huge haha! I would definitely stick with not having any hay or paper anywhere but the box, alot of bunnies associate hay=toilet. If you’ve only had him two weeks he may just be taking awhile to settle down, every buns different. If he didn’t have a litterbox when he was with is mum it might take a little longer, unfortunately persistence is the key even if it can be quite frustrating! have you tried putting hay in the actual litterbox? also putting the soaked paper towels you used to clean up the wee in his litter box will encourage him smell wise! hormonal teen bunnies can be very testing i know, good thing they’re totally adorable

Posted By Leen on 05/12/2012 04:26 PM

I know it’s going to take time, but how do I get the message across that it’s not okay to pee on the floor? I’m away at work during the day and can’t seem to catch him in the act of doing it. Maybe I should just resign myself to the inevitable since I’m not a stay at home bun-mom.

You just do the best you can, and take comfort in the fact that this should be temporary.  Lots of us work and we do a thorough clean in the morning and again when we get home.  Baby buns are notoriously messy.  You wouldn’t expect a young human toddler to never have a potty accident… baby buns are just furry toddlers.  Schedule a bunny exam ASAP so you can get a baseline for him and confirm he is a he.

Additionally, what type of litter do you have in the box?  Have you tried something different?  Some buns are picky with textures, so if you have wood pellets in there, maybe try a paper-based litter over the top?  Or vice verse…  Put hay inside the box.  You’ll waste some hay, but it might encourage him to hop inside more often.  Do you have a large litterbox?  If it’s a small box, or even worse, a corner box, try getting a larger rectangular cat box.

I have a picture that looks just like your Hazel lounging in the corner litter box.  It was Lola’s FAVORITE sleeping spot.

I don’t know if someone already said this because I didn’t feel like reading through the entire thread but I would try getting rid of the corner box and just using rubbermaid containers.  I used cute tupperware containers from Target and just line them with Carefresh bedding completely and put hay at one end – that way when she is eating her hay she inadvertently pees/poops in her litter box.  I also put her food dish overtop the litter box connected to the cage so she does all her eating while actually in her litter box.  This worked like a charm even before she was spayed and she now has IMPECCABLE litter box habits!

Side note: my boyfriend probably now thinks I’m crazy for taking  a picture of the bun’s litter box….

He is making progress – alot of litter training depends on keeping his area clean and his routine, well, routine. With some rabbits, it takes time and vigilance on the owner’s part. Also, he is at a frustrating but darn cute age when he is hormonal and quite frankly not as trainable as he will be when he matures a bit. I say be patient and be persistent and you will eventually get him trained.

bmt87 has a really good point, a lot of rabbits don’t like corner litter boxes. One of my rabbits who was struggling with the litter box habits got much better after I switched out his cat litter box for the bottom of a guniea pig cage (he’s a larger bun so it would be like the equivalent of your bunny having his corner litter box switched for a cat litter box).

Can you attach the new litter box w/zipties to the side so he cannot push it around?